Beautiful Stranger
by DancingInThePouringRain
Summary: Layla Brooks is the insecure cousin of Emily Uley,visiting La Push for the first time to stay for a few weeks to help with the wedding results in her already stuffed up life to be flipped around, all because of one beautiful Stranger. Embry/OC


This was beyond ridiculous; I was over an hour later than I had planned to be because I took a wrong turn and now my car, which has never failed me before, has decided to take up smoking and making grinding noises under the hood. I pulled over to the side of the road and flicked on my hazards, not that anyone would see them anyway, the road was practically deserted and in the middle of nowhere, well kind of. I had passed through a place called Forks not too long ago and it said that the so called 'La Push' was in this direction. I popped the bonnet before climbing out and the smoke travelled out of it in an attempt to escape the enclosed box. As I walked around the front of the car I waved my hand in front of my face to push away the smoke and looked inside to see a bunch of poles and boxed shape metal things I had no clue about, I didn't even know how to change a damn tire. I should have taken Brad up on that offer when he offered before I left. At least it wasn't raining but the sky looked pretty mean with the dark clouds rumbling above. I made my way back to the car and pulled on a hooded black jumper over my jeans and shirt combo before grabbing my phone ad dialling Emily's number. The reason I was on this trip in the first place was because Em had called me up all excited asking me to come to her wedding which was in a few weeks and to come visit her for a few weeks, I couldn't exactly say no since she was one of my only actual family members who wanted to see me. It actually worked out perfectly because I had just quit my job teaching at the high school local to the area I was staying at and had recently split up with my fiancée of two years. Things with Heath had just gotten out of control and I had pretty much up and left, it was rather coward like of me but the person you loved was supposed to make you feel loved in return right? Not put you down and call you names or push you to do things you didn't want to. Maybe that was my problem, I was never really an out there person and I let people control me; I was shy and weak, pathetic right? I let out a sigh when it went straight to voicemail and I tried a few more times before giving up. I grabbed my wallet and turned the car off, locked it and shoved my phone and keys in my pocket, looks like I'd have to walk to La Push and try and find a mechanics and hopefully they would know where Emily and her to-be-husband Sam lived. I walked along the side of the road for a good half hour, breathing in the smell of rain and woods which was amazing. It actually kind of soothed me in a weird sort of way, like I had just walked into my childhood home, unusual. Finally I saw the 'Welcome to La Push' sign and almost collapsed with relief, thank god I had walked the right way. I picked up my pace and one of the first shops I came across said 'JB MECHANICS' in big, bold writing. The sign read open and I pushed open the door, causing a little bell to ring as I stepped inside to be met by a desk that held an old computer and a phone. There was a small silver bell set up at the front and I pressed it since there was no one in sight. Behind the desk was a door that was slightly ajar where I could hear music blasting through. _No wonder they can't hear me._ I rang the bell again just in case but when there was no answer I stepped behind the desk and pushed open the door cautiously, peering into what turned out to be a huge garage with three cars sitting between tall work benches with every type of tool and car part you could think of, not that I knew any of them. The radio was to my right and speakers were up in the corners, blaring music out so it filled to every corner of the huge room.

"Hello" I called in a just above average voice level and still only music played. "Anyone here" I called louder and heard a crashing followed by a curse. I walked towards where the sound had come from which was to the far right, near a black car. I caught sight of two powerful looking legs that were a nice russet colour sticking out from underneath the car; covered from just above the knee by denim cut offs. The guy underneath had swapped his curses for singing along to the radio and I held back a smile of amusement before I cleared my throat. He stopped singing and his body slid out from underneath the car on one of those rollie things. The powerful legs turned into attractive looking hips that were just showing the 'V' shape that disappeared under the shorts which was in turn followed my an amazing looking torso that was well defined in a tight dark blue shirt. So far he had clearly been carved out of a perfect marble by god himself and then a strong neck and jaw appeared followed by a slight crooked nose and then big beautiful brown eyes and shortly cropped dark hair. I swallowed as I took him in, wow, a god himself compared to most. His eyes looked surprised to see me before he stood up and grabbed an old dirty rag to wipe his hands on.

"Sorry, I didn't realise anyone was here, um did you just walk straight through to back here" He asked in slight confusion. Normal people would consider that rude let alone trespassing! Gosh I should have just waited out the front and called out. As I was scolding myself for just barging in I looked up his tall frame to see him waiting expectantly. Speak Layla speak!

"Oh uh I'm sorry, I was ringing and calling out but no one answered and I heard the music so I just decided to peek through the door to let someone know I was here and then I heard you um talking and it was incredibly rude of me, I wasn't thinking, I shouldn't have just walked in…" I rambled on nervously and stopped when I caught the amused smile that pulled up one side of his mouth. "And I'm making it even more embarrassing by yapping on, I'm Layla Brooks" I said, holding out my hand awkwardly and he laughed before taking my hand and shaking it, big hands.

"Embry Call and it's okay, I just get caught up sometimes, anyway, what can I help you with Layla" He asked as he chucked the rag on a nearby bench.

"Oh right, the reason I'm here, I was on my way to…well here, I mean not here exactly! But to La Push you know to stay with my cousin and I was driving along some road and had just been through the town called uh Spoons or something, no not spoons, knife maybe" I said, trying to push away the crazy nerves that had begun affecting my train of thought as I tried to explain to him what happened.

"You mean Forks" He suggested helpfully and I nodded.

"Yeah that's the one, um anyway I was driving and my car started smoking from under the front hood thing and then it started grinding and I pulled over and had a look but I don't know squat about cars so I tried calling my cousin but she wouldn't answer and I hadn't been here before so I started walking in search for a mechanic and I found this place and well you know the rest" I shrugged, my cheeks flushing a painful red.

"Sounds like quite a journey, how far away is your car" he asked and I looked at him dumb struck.

"Um I walked for like half hour" I offered and he nodded.

"By the sounds of it that smoking and grinding doesn't sound too good, I'll get the tow out there now, did you wanna come with me or you could wait here for a while I guess" he said, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh well, sure, I need to get stuff out anyway and it's not like I have anywhere else to go" I said and he nodded.

"Right, I'll just call my boss man and let him know before we head out, the trucks out front if you wanna make your way out, I'll be there in a sec" He said, pulling a phone out of his pocket and going through it.

"Okay uh Embry" I said and he looked up at me, waiting. "Would I by any chance be able to use the bathroom" I asked and he looked at me for a second before nodding.

"Sure, it's just through that door on the far side there" He said and I gave him a quick thank you smile before hurrying over, god why did I have to pee so bad all of a sudden. I opened the door and was met by a very small room that barely fit in a sink and toilet. I closed the door and realised there was no lock before I quickly peed. I flushed and washed my hands before looking at myself in the mirror that was on the back of the door. As my blue eyes scanned my face and body up and down I realised I looked like a complete mess. My blondey brown coloured hair was messy and my face was slightly flushed from embarrassment, god I looked like a well-dressed prostitute that had just rolled out of bed. I tried to pat down my hair a little before exiting so I wouldn't keep him waiting and was met by him turning the radio off. "Ready" He asked when he caught me looking and I nodded, following back out the front door. We walked towards the tow truck and I was pretty surprised when he opened the door for me, I mean, no one had ever done that for me before. I climbed in, murmuring a 'thanks' before he shut the door and jumped in himself. The truck was only a two seater so we were fairly close, close enough I could feel the heat radiating off his arm as we drove along.

"So your here visiting your cousin" He said, making conversation.

"Yeah, just for a few weeks, in fact maybe I should try call her again" I said, pulling out my iPhone. As soon as I slid the bar open it died. "Great, this day couldn't be any worse" I mumbled before there was a loud bang of thunder and it started bucketing down with rain. Embry laughed before pulling his phone out of his pocket.

"Here, you can use this" He offered and as I took it off him our fingers brushed and my fingers tinged from the heat of his skin, weird.

"Thanks" I said, brushing it off since he didn't seem to notice as his hand went back on to his leg as he drove with the other hand. I dialled Emily's number in and put it up to my ear, waiting patiently as is finally rang.

"Hey Embry, is everything okay" My cousins voice said through the phone and I frowned, well at least I think it was her.

"Emily" I questioned curiously and Embry looked over at me, raising an eyebrow.

"Layla? What are you doing with Embry?" Emily questioned and I looked over at Embry curiously.

"I'm guessing your cousin is Sam's girl Emily" He said and I bit my lip, of course everyone knows everyone here.

"Layla, you still there" Emily asked, I was momently distracted by Embry and quickly looked away.

"Yeah Em, I'm here, uh well my car broke down on my way here and I tried calling you but I got no answer so I walked into town and found a mechanics and Embry said he'd take me in the tow truck so we could get my car and I went to try you again but my phone died so now I'm using his" I explained in the shortest way possible. There was silence on the other end for a second before she began to apologise.

"I'm so sorry, my phone was playing up and I should have given you Sam's number but I forgot, are you okay, you didn't get caught in the rain did you" She asked worriedly.

"No, no it only just started when we left the shop, I'm fine, I'm guessing we'll just get the car and head back to the shop" I said hesitantly and Embry nodded.

"Okay, do you wanna put Embry on for a second please" She said and I nodded and handed him the phone. He put it up to his ear and I watched as his eyes flickered over the road in front.

"Hey Em, it's no problem, she's fine, yeah it broke down just outside of Fork's, it was only a half hour walk, no I don't have my shift till tomorrow night, the bon fire? Uh i guess so, I can drop her to you, I gotta see Sam anyway, alright, see you soon" He said, their conversation lasting about two minutes before he hung up.

"I'm such a pain, I should have got the car checked before I left, stupid" I muttered and he shrugged.

"Your fine and how were you supposed to know it would break down" He said, his eyes flicking over to me to give me his small smile that was on sided.

"It's prone to break down I just kind of avoided getting it checked" I shrugged as we approached the spot where I had left the little car I'd had since I was old enough to drive.

"It can't be that bad" He said, rolling his eyes before my car came into view. The small white excel was kind of lop sided, I hadn't even realised the side of the road was angled like that when I pulled over. "Or maybe I spoke to soon" He mumbled before pulling over and doing a U turn before he reversed, leaving about a two metre distance before he put the truck in park and got out. I followed him quickly, sliding out of the tall truck before I met him at the back of the tow. The rain had settled to a spit for now.

"I could open the hood for you" I said, quickly going to the driver side and trying to unlock it with the key that had no problem locking but refused to unlock. I struggled with it for a good minute before a hand closed over mine and I jumped back, leaving the keys in the car and a surprised looking Embry next to the car. "Uh, it gets stuck sometimes" I said and he nodded.

"I can see that" He said before reaching for the key and of course it unlocked straight away, making me look like a complete fool, stupid key. He leaned in and gave me a good view of his backside before the hood made a popping noise. I still stood about a metre away from the car where I had jumped when he headed around to the front and lifted up the lid. "Your radiators shot, I don't even know how this car is driveable" He said, shaking his head.

"So can I just get a new radiator or put some tape around it or something" I questioned and his eyes met mine.

"Tape" He smirked and I rubbed my eyes.

"Yeah you know, duct tape or something, I've fixed other leaks in there by that stuff" I said and he laughed.

"Yeah I can see that, no you can't use tape, definitely need a new radiator, how long were you planning on staying" He asked and I pursed my lips.

"A few weeks, maybe longer, how long will it take to fix" I asked, stepping over so I could peep in the car. He watched me curiously before looking back into the car.

"Two weeks, three max, depending on how long it takes to get the parts in" He shrugged, going to close the hood. I nodded and stepped back when he closed it shut. "Alright let's get her hooked up so we can get out of here before the rain starts up again" He said. "I'm gunna reverse the truck, stay away from the back of the car until I get it close enough" He instructed before going to move the car. I watched as he effortlessly reversed the truck in close to the car, leaving about a metre space before he got back out and pressed some buttons on the controls on the side of the trucks edge to pull out a hooked metal rope. He hooked something under the car before pulling out two more hooks and hooking them on the inside of either front wheels, coming from the top. He was crouched down and locking the second one into place.

"Wanna come over here and press this button for me so I can make sure the cars secure" He asked and I nodded, quickly walking through the middle of the two cars. "Just watch out for the…" He began but it was too late and I had tripped over the cable running from under the truck. I would have fallen flat on my face but instead Embry's arm snaked out around my waist as he let go of the cable and saved me from a gravel grazed face. "Cable" He finished as I gripped the shirt at his shoulder with one hand and the truck bumper with the other. I lifted my caught ankle over the rope and noticed it had been slightly grazed and cut open from the metal cable before Embry helped me stand up straight.

"Thanks" I breathed when I was upright.

"You okay" He asked, his eyes scanning over me for any injuries as he let me go.

"Yeah, god embarrassed myself again, sorry, um do you still want my help" I asked, feeling the blood rush to my cheeks.

"No need to be embarrassed, it was an accident, yeah just when I tell you can you press the green button that's pointing up" He asked and I nodded, holding the controls as he crouched back down and relocked on the hook he had dropped to grab me. "Alright, take it up slow okay" He said and i nodded as I pressed in the button. My car slowly rose off the ground before it decided to make a screeching noise. I let go of the button and Embry looked underneath the car before readjusting and tell me to keep going until he said stop.

"Got it" I said as the car rose about 30 cm more before he said stop. He went around the back of the car and checked it wouldn't drag before coming back to me.

"Thanks" He said, taking the remote off me. "Wanna go take the handbrake off for me" He said and I walked over to the car and reached in to take it off. "Put the car in Neutral as well" He called and I did that as well before closing the door behind me.

"Done" I said and he nodded as he adjusted the car.

"Alright, let's go" He said, pressing one more button before hooking the remote back onto the side of the truck. We climbed in at the same time and buckled up before we began driving and I watched in the side view mirror as my car got pulled along behind us. Embry flicked the radio on and tapped along to the music on the steering wheel as we drove back into La Push.

"_Baby you light up my world like nobody else, the way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed, but when you smile at the ground it aint hard to tell, you don't know, you don't know you're beautiful"_

I smiled when he started singing along to himself and I watched the blurred brown, greens and grey fly by. I know it sounded crazy but being in the car with a guy that was pretty much a stranger to me had me feeling safe and happy, happier then I'd been in ages, maybe it was just the fresh air, maybe La Push or the excitement of seeing my cousin but it felt nice and I was hoping it wouldn't disappear.

We soon arrived at the garage and he parked the tow truck around back next to a black Ute truck that looked much more normal than the tow truck. We got out and he let my car down slowly before moving the truck back around front. While he was gone I got out all my stuff from the car and when he came back he opened up the back of the black truck and helped me put my stuff in the back.

"That all you got" he asked and I nodded before he shut the boot and he told me to get in the car while he quickly checked the message machine inside. He jogged back just as the rain started up and quickly locked up and locked my car before he got in and we drove off. The seats were comfortable and the black leather interior smelled of new car mixed with the pine air freshener he had hanging off the rear view mirror. It was a manual like my car and glided along smoothly.

"Nice car, is it new?" I asked and he shrugged.

"Maybe a year old" He mused, thinking back.

"And it's in amazing condition, how do you keep it so clean" I asked surprised as I ran my finger along the dust free dash board.

"I cleaned it this morning before you showed up so it wasn't as good as this but I normally clean it and give it a wash every second week" He said, turning the radio down to background music. There was another seat belt in the middle but that person would have their legs on either side of the gear box and couldn't be any bigger than me to be able to fit.

We were only driving for about five minutes before we pulled up in front of an average sized house that had a cabin look about it. There was only one car parked out the front and I noticed the pretty flower filled garden that decorated the front of the house and the path that led up to the two steps that reached up to the door. I got out and followed Embry to the door with him saying we'd get out my stuff later. When we got to the door I heard the loud noise of multiple conversations on the other side and stopped as Embry just opened the door.

"Shouldn't we knock" I asked nervously and he turned around to see me still hesitating at the bottom of the two steps.

"You really think they'd hear us if we did knock" He asked and I bit my lip nervously.

"Maybe I should come back another time, when it's just Emily home, I don't want to intrude" I said, taking a step back and he shook his head. "I could just stay at a hotel for the night, I was gunna do that anyway" I said, watching him as he took a step towards me.

"This is the usual crowd at Emily's, your cousins an amazing cook, their just my friends, don't worry, I won't let them do anything not that they would anyway" He said, nodding his head towards the door.

"I'm not even decent looking, I could get changed, god they'll think I'm homeless" I said and he frowned.

"You look beautiful and the guys won't care anyway" He objected and I took another step back. "And if you take one more step back I'll have to move my car, come on, your fine" He said and I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. _You are fine, your cousins in there, and Embry's right there, you trust him, he's helped you, they won't let anything happen to you._ I revved myself up before opening my eyes and heading back to where Embry was waiting for me, watching me with careful eyes.

"You first" I said and he rolled his eyes, walking inside. I was right on his heels as I softly closed the door behind us. I was practically glued to him I was that close but I wasn't touching him, well wasn't till he stopped in the middle of the hallway and I crashed into him, resulting in me grabbing onto his shirt to regain balance. He was looking to his left and I followed his gaze to realise the house had gone quiet and I had half a dozen, some shirtless, guys staring at me. I blushed, knowing they all caught my stumble and I quickly let go of Embry's shirt and stepped back.

"Uh Sup Embry, whose your friend" One of the guys asked who looked to be around Embry's age.

"Guys this is Emily's cousin, Layla, Layla these are the guys" Embry introduced as he nodded to the one that had spoken who in turn got up and approached us.

"Hey I'm Quil, nice to meet you" He said, holding out a hand to shake. I took it and noticed his temperature was warm like Embry's before he broke contact.

"I'm Jacob or Jake" Another who was sitting on the couch originally next to Quil said, giving me a wave.

"Paul," Another one waved, he looked a little older than Embry and the last two.

"Jared,"

"Brady,"

"Collin," They all said, giving me a smile, nod or wave.

"Hi" I said, giving them an awkward wave back.

"Is Emily around" Embry asked after the introductions were done.

"Yeah man, she's in the kitchen" Quil said as he made his way back over to the lounge. The room had a two seater couch and a three seater but Paul was lounged out on the two seater so the two younger ones, Brady and Collin were sitting on the floor. Embry continued down the hall and I quickly followed him.

"She's hot" I heard one of the guys say as I left.

"Dude I think she's already taken" I heard Jake say but I just brushed it off as my eyes quickly scanned pictures that were hanging on the wall.

"Emily" Embry called as he walked around a corner and into a pretty little kitchen with a bench in the centre that had three chairs at it and a fresh tray of cookies sitting on it cooling. All of a sudden Emily popped up behind the bench and her smile turned even bright when her eyes saw me behind Embry.

"Layla, my beautiful little cousin" Emily gasped as she quickly walked around the counter and pulled me into a tight gripped hug. Her dark hair had gotten longer and the scars that decorated one side of her face were fascinating and worrying all in one but I had heard she was attacked by a bear just after I had left. Nonetheless she was beautiful, always had been and I'd say always will be, even when she's old. My cousin was only three years older than my twenty two year status, being at twenty five but she had always been more like an older sister to me I guess you could say.

"Emily, it's good to see you" I said, hugging her back. I heard Embry retreating to let us have a moment and smiled.

"Gosh, it great to see you, how is your car, how are you" She asked as she led me to one of the three chairs available and then sat next to me, grabbing my hand as she looked at me expectantly.

"My car needs to get fixed so I'll definitely be hanging around for the next few weeks, I'm good, it's such a nice place here, so fresh and green, I love it, how have you been" I replied as she smiled at me and got a good look at me.

"It's okay, you can use one of the guys cars, I'm sure Embry will even let you use his, they prefer to run anyway, I've been great, I'm just making the guys some snacks before I get dinner on the way, hope you like BBQ's, it's Jacob's father Billy's birthday so we are having a little something here, perfect because you can meet pretty much everyone, Sam's out with one of the other boy's Seth working but they should be back soon" She explained as she handed me a cookie to nibble on.

"Sounds yum, need any help" I asked and her eyes lit up.

"Sure, you could start on the salad" She said, nodding to the chopping board and a huge bowl that had huge amounts of salad based foods surrounding it.

"No problem" I said, chucking my hair up in a messy bun and pushing up my jumper sleeves before washing my hands then starting to chop and wash the salad stuff. Emily and I chatted as we went along, talking about what we had done, how our life's had been going and what we hoped for in the future, then it went to memories we had as kids and what happened after I left. Almost an hour later we had everything prepared and Emily showed me to my room which was at the back of the house with a window facing the yard and the woods behind that. It was a fairly decent sized room with a queen sized bed in the middle, apparently her and Sam had got a king sized bed and put this in here instead of the single bed for visitors or when the guys stayed over. The walls were painted a light creamy colour with the bed posts being dark stained wood with a sea blue cover along with a white built-in wardrobe on one wall. Embry brought in my bags and had left them at the door while I was in the kitchen so Emily helped me pack some stuff away and put up a few pictures I had in frames, one of my parents, one of my best friend from college and one of Emily and I when we were younger, I think we were maybe five and eight and our mum's had taken us down to the creek to play since the day was unusually hot. We both looked up when there was a knock on the door frame and who I was guessing was Sam was leaning in the door way, smiling in at us. Emily's face brightened when she saw him and he pulled her into a hug and peppered kisses over her face before kissing her lips.

"I missed you" He smiled and she grinned back.

"I missed you to, Sam this is my cousin Layla, Layla this is Sam" Emily introduced and Sam shook my hand.

"Pleasure to finally meet you" He said and I responded with the same, instantly quieting down compared to the chatter me and Emily had going on. I put my phone on the charger and headed back into the kitchen, trailing behind Emily and Sam. Quil was in there, scoffing down the cookies and I held back a laugh as Emily scolded him like he was a child and not the twenty something year old he was.

"Twenty three years old and you still don't know how to share, Claire even knows how to share and she's nine" Emily scolded as she whacked his hand.

"I'm hungry and their all too distracted with the x-box to notice, Embry is kicking Paul's butt, almost on the high score" He grinned, giving me a quick wink, a friendly one.

"Really, well this I gotta see" A tall girl that was breath takingly beautiful said as she walked through the side door of the kitchen. "Oh hey, you must be Layla, I'm Rachel, Paul's fiancée" She said, greeting me with a happy smile and a hug. "Welcome to La Push" She said before we all followed her into the lounge room to watch the boys compete. I was met by complete silence from both Paul and Embry, only the look of concentration on their features as they raced on the big screen TV. Paul was sitting up so Rachel went and sat next to him while Emily leaned into Sam while he had his hands around her waist and I stood there awkwardly until Quil noticed me standing from his seat on the lounge and he grabbed my arm, pulling me around so I was sitting between him and Embry. Since they were so big I was shoulder to shoulder with both of them as I watched Embry's fingers move expertly on the remote in his hands as his eyes stayed glued to the screen.

"Your witnessing the most ultimate battle that has been going on in this house since we were sixteen and Embry is about to become a legend" Quil muttered to me excitedly as the clock neared to an end. I saw Paul's face begin to crease as his concentration turned into frustration and then he crashed when there was about ten seconds left, allowing Embry to lead. All the guys jumped up in cheer as Paul threw the remote at the ground. I kept my eye on Paul as the boys walked over and pat Embry on the back, Quil even dove across me to kiss his cheek which he wiped off. Paul shot to his feet as he shook with anger and I saw Rachel grab his hand but he pushed hers away.

"This is bullshit, I want a rematch" He almost growled as his eyes flickered dangerously at Embry. Embry looked up at him from his seat next to him, an eyebrow raised.

"Man you lost, Embry got the high score, just let it go" Quil said and Paul glared over at him before turning back to Embry, his body shaking violently.

"I was distracted by Rachel, I want a rematch against your punk ass" He snapped, stepping closer. Embry's boy shifted in front of me protectively as he glared up at Paul.

"Back off Paul, your way to close" Embry said back though his voice was just as threatening it was more contained, not nearly as scary as Paul's.

"Paul cut it out now" Rachel demanded as she went to grab his arm but before she could reach him he jumped at Embry. In the next second Embry had stood up and twisted both himself and Paul around so he was holding the still shaking Paul in a head lock. Quil had got up and stood in front of me protectively and Jake was next to Rachel, holding her arm as I watched past Quil, frozen with part fright and part amazement.

"I said back off" Embry said through his teeth.

"Paul, Embry, outside, now" Sam demanded in a voice that made him sound like he was in charge. I was surprised when they both obeyed, Embry pushing Paul towards the door, away from me, as he let him out of his hold. Both of them went out and Sam and Jacob followed as I sat their confused.

"I'm sorry Layla, Paul has a temper problem which he better fix, he would never hurt you though, he only goes after the guys and no one ever really gets badly hurt" Rachel reassured before she went out after the other guys.

"You okay Lay" Quil questioned and I nodded.

"Layla, come on into the kitchen and we will put out some snacks while the guys set up out back" Emily said, grabbing my hand and pulling me after her. She grabbed some bowls out and handed them to me to put out while she got out some chips and lollies. "None of the guys would hurt you, I promise you that, Sam usually breaks it up before Paul jumps but I guess he was just distracted" She assured as well, similar to Rachel as she passed me some of the junk food.

"I kind of knew that Embry wouldn't let anyone hurt me, he told me before we came in, I guess I was just surprised, Embry moved really fast" I shrugged as I poured some food into the bowl. Emily was doing the same when she smiled over at me.

"Embry's a good guy, really protective of his friends, looks like youse have already taken a friendship on" She said happily and I bit my lip.

"I guess, I mean I only met him this morning but he seems really nice, makes me feel safe in a weird way, is that crazy" I asked as soon as the words left my mouth and she laughed.

"No, we all feel like that around the guys" She waved it off and I nodded, thank god. We grabbed the bowls and headed out into the backyard by the side of the house. It was beginning to get dark and they had fairy lights decorating around and a few spotlights so the yard was lit with tables on one side and logs around what I'm guessing what would soon be a bonfire when more people arrived. There was a BBQ as well and a few chairs scattered around. The guys were putting the tables together and then Emily and I set the snacks on it, some of them grabbing a handful as they went back to setting up. I caught Embry watching me a few times as I helped Emily decorate with streamers and banners but he never approached me as he collected wood for the fire or helped move the furniture around. Sam was cleaning and heating up the BBQ as we were finishing off and I was carrying out the meat to him. I went to grab the second huge plate when Paul entered the kitchen a guilty look on his face. I looked around and realised everyone was outside. I felt unease flitter through me when I met his dark eyes but the calm behind them helped me relax a little.

"I came to apologise, I'm sorry if I scared you, sometimes I can't control my anger and I lash out at people, the guys mostly, I would never hurt one of you girls, sometimes I even get scared that I'd hurt Rach but I'm more calm around her, more calm around you girls in general and the guys can just take my anger" He said, shrugging. His eyes never left mine as he spoke except when he mentioned Rachel.

"I don't believe you'd hurt anyone intentionally, really there's no need to apologise, I guess I was just surprised by everyone's reaction, I um, don't have brothers but in college and through high school the boys all played rough, it's natural to fight with your friends when you're a guy, even when you're a girl, so it's uh no problem, I'm sorry that you had to apologise" I said, stumbling awkwardly to find words.

"Embry said you would try apologise" He said, amusement on his face.

"Oh, I um, didn't realise I was doing something wrong, uh sorry again I guess, for being sorry" I said and he laughed.

"I think I'm gunna like you, your funny, want me to carry that plate for you" He asked and I nodded, thanking him. So Embry was talking about me behind my back, great, he probably went and laughed with all the guys about my stupid embarrassment and how clumsy I was. Of course, the nice act was just an act, stupid Layla. I walked out after Paul and Embry smiled over at me when he saw Paul carrying the plate but I quickly looked away, avoiding his gaze. I was grabbing some plates from the cupboards inside for Emily when I heard someone walk in and stop. I looked over my shoulder to find Embry looking down at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Everything okay" He asked.

"Yes, thank you" I replied, gathering plates.

"Did I do something wrong" He asked and I stopped for a second before continuing.

"Why would you ask that" I said, placing the plates on the bench.

"I don't know, it just feels like your upset with me, I didn't hurt Paul, I was just trying to get him away so he wouldn't hurt anyone" He explained and I nodded.

"I know, Paul apologised, among other things" I said and he frowned as I grabbed the plates.

"What other things" He asked, stepping in the way so I couldn't get passed him to outside.

"Nothing, excuse me" I said and he stepped aside with a sigh. "And by the way, I don't apologise all the time" I said as I walked past and he smirked.

"So that's what it's about" He said as he followed me out. I just shrugged and he grabbed my arm to stop me and when I flinched his hand released me immediately. "I said you'd probably try to apologise for some part of it but for him to remember it was his fault cause he couldn't keep his cool" He said in a soothing and calming voice, almost as if I was a little child that was scared of the dark. I looked up at met his worried dark eyes.

"I didn't mean to flinch when you grabbed me; you didn't hurt me I just…" I began and he held up a hand.

"Hey, my fault, I shouldn't have grabbed you, you don't need to explain yourself to me" He smiled, offering to take the plates out of my hands. I handed them over before blowing a deep breath out when he left, nice guy. I didn't have to explain myself to him, that brought a strange weight off my chest and had me smiling as I walked out to greet some people that had arrived.

By the next two hours I knew pretty much everyone, I had met the birthday boy and Emily's other cousin's Leah and Seth, both being my favourite people of the night. Leah was a stubborn girl but she didn't let the boys push her around, strong, independent woman, all of them were. I met Kim as well who was reasonably shy but warmed up to me pretty quickly on excitement of her and Jared's first baby. I met Emily's niece Claire who adored Quil and the other two men they called their 'elders'. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly, it was almost too strange.

I spent a lot of time talking to Rachel, Emily, Kim and Leah partially, the night flying by without me really noticing. My first day turned out to be alright, despite breaking down.


End file.
